Roma Downey Casts Out Satan in 'Son of God'

Feb 18, 2014 01:11 PM EST

Roma Downey and Mark Burnett Son of God
Roma Downey and Mark Burnett

Roma Downey and husband, Mark Burnett have cast Satan out of their upcoming "Son of God" film.

The makers of "The Bible Series" which broadcasted on The History Channel, have set their sights on the silver screen with their spin-off movie, "Son of God." The miniseries, which aired in 2013, unfortunately suffered major backlash when actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouazan who portrayed Satan took the screen.

Social media outlets were full of comments stating that Satan looked like President Obama.

Satan in the Bible Series
Satan in The Bible, from the History Channel. Photograph: screenshot via CBS

"It was the third week of 'The Bible' series when Jesus finally appeared. There was great excitement that Jesus was coming--trailers and talk shows and even Twitter was buzzing with anticipation," said Roma Downey. "So Jesus came onto the screen and people went wild. He was beautiful and strong and kind and compassionate--everything we hoped for."

Jesus was portrayed by the Portuguese actor, Diogo Morgado, dubbed "Hot Jesus" on social media by countless young women across the nation.

THE-BIBLE-SERIES-HISTORY-CHANNEL.jpg
Diogo Morgado plays the role of Jesus in "Son of God" movie. (Photo : Movieguide.org) 

The former "Touched By an Angel" actress and Christian told TheBlaze that she felt the turn of events was directly correlated to spiritual warfare.

"It was all over the TV and all over the Internet and that next day, when I was sure everyone would be only talking about Jesus, they were all talking about Satan instead," she said. "I was saddened. It was really disappointing, because it became such a distraction and then it became ugly and people were making such nasty statements."

Roma Downey Son of God
Roma Downey plays Mary, mother of Jesus.

Downey, who also portrayed the mother of [the grown] Jesus in "The Bible Series," felt that the controversy caused the attention that should have been on God and His Word to, instead, be on Satan.

Furthermore, she told TheBlaze that the switch-up of attention was rather in character with Satan.

"I knew it was just like Satan the narcissist to make it all about him and create division," Downey said. "I am sure Satan loved being the center of attention for a day."

With this in mind, Roma decided to kick Satan out of the film, almost as fast as he was kicked out of heaven.

"I want the name of Jesus to be on the lips of everyone who sees this movie, so I cast Satan out," she stated in a way that only the native Irish woman could. "It absolutely gives me great pleasure to tell you that the devil is on the cutting-room floor."

It is not clear how or if the Temptation of Jesus will be portrayed in the film since Satan got the boot, at least in bodily form, but it is extremely likely the series adapted to film will be just as, if not, more enjoyable than the series made for TV itself.

Mark Burnett, the producer of many popular reality shows such as "The Voice," "The Apprentice," "Shark Tank," etc. has definitely hit the TV jackpot when he and his wife decided to produce "The Bible Series" so when "Son of God" debuts on February 28, it is sure to fare the same.

2014 is a big year for The Bible in the theater. With "Son of God" debuting this month, and "Noah," starring the award-winning actor Russell Crowe, debuting exactly one month later on March 28th, God is certain to be glorified in the theaters this year.

View the "Son of God" trailer:

Son of God Movie Trailer